Well, to sound like a TV doctor, "I Concur". I learned to ride as a youngster in the 60's. Then taught bicycle safety in the elementary school district I attended in that way-back time. Yes, the kids took it seriously. I started riding seriously in the 70's as a young adult. Let me put my observations this way


Riding in the 1970's
-No one had ever heard of road rage. Yes, there were A-hole drivers, and there always will be. But they were uncommon compared to today.
-I was never yelled at to "get off the road".
-I never once had anything hurled at me from a passing vehicle. Not McDonalds garbage, not beer bottles, not eggs, or anything else.
-Talk radio hosts did not tell their listeners to run cyclists off the road, nor did they suggest to their listeners that we all deserve to get beat up.
-Cell phones were the stuff of Science fiction. SUV's (the term had not been invented yet) were bought and driven by game wardens, construction business people, and hunters/fishermen.
-People were a lot more relaxed at the wheel. (search your feelings, you know it to be true!)

Riding today
-Road rage is an everyday occurrence. Don't think so? turn on a police scanner.
-I am yelled at to "get off the road", among other things, several times per year. It used to be a white male thing, but I've noticed white females getting in on this. Sorry to offend the PC police, but it is what I am seeing.
-I have had all of the aforementioned things tossed at me. The worst thing though, was someone leaning out the passenger side of a passing junkyard special, and blasting one of those freon marine horns at me, a few feet from my face. (You can't get those cans of freon anymore.) I almost crashed.
-I don't think I need to mention what has happened in every radio market in the country, with regard to talk radio people (aka "shock jocks") and what they do to cyclists. It is time to shut them down.
-Don't think I need to mention cell phones and SUV's either.
-Motorists are not relaxed at the wheel. You could say, "well, everyone is under so much stress today." I cannot buy that one. The "stress argument" is becoming an excuse of convenience. i.e. "Well, I was late to my kid's soccer practice, and my nanny just quit, so I was stressed and ran over the bicyclist. I don't see what the big deal is anyway."

Well, I got a little carried away. Sorry about that. The answer is yes, I do feel cycling is more dangerous today than when I began.
AMEN! All true!

And the answer is "We don't know"
http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/bc/perspective.htm

Bicycling Crashes In Perspective

The loss of 622 lives in bicycle/motor vehicle crashes in 2003, almost two people every day of the year, is an awful toll. The good news is that the number of bicyclist fatalities each year is falling - down from 859 back in 1990, a drop of 28 percent in thirteen years. The number of reported injuries involving bicyclists is also falling, from 68,000 in 1993 to 46,000 in 2003. However, we know from research into hospital records that only a fraction of bicycle crashes causing injury are ever recorded by the police, possibly as low as ten percent.



Good work Librarian! We need more posts like yours! Even though the article says "we don't know" What we do know is that the number of bicycle on the roads in most cities has increased. So I'll presume, that cycling today *with high vis equipment, and careful biking* is safer. Careful cycling includes:

* Judging the speed of oncoming traffic and following traffic
* oObserving the rules of the road,
* Showing an air of predictability i.e., helping driver understand your intent
* Factoring riding to acount for cold, rain, and trip duration

Well, to sound like a TV doctor, "I Concur". I learned to ride as a youngster in the 60's. Then taught bicycle safety in the elementary school district I attended in that way-back time. Yes, the kids took it seriously. I started riding seriously in the 70's as a young adult. Let me put my observations this way


Riding in the 1970's
-No one had ever heard of road rage. Yes, there were A-hole drivers, and there always will be. But they were uncommon compared to today.
-I was never yelled at to "get off the road".
-I never once had anything hurled at me from a passing vehicle. Not McDonalds garbage, not beer bottles, not eggs, or anything else.
-Talk radio hosts did not tell their listeners to run cyclists off the road, nor did they suggest to their listeners that we all deserve to get beat up.
-Cell phones were the stuff of Science fiction. SUV's (the term had not been invented yet) were bought and driven by game wardens, construction business people, and hunters/fishermen.
-People were a lot more relaxed at the wheel. (search your feelings, you know it to be true!)

Riding today
-Road rage is an everyday occurrence. Don't think so? turn on a police scanner.
-I am yelled at to "get off the road", among other things, several times per year. It used to be a white male thing, but I've noticed white females getting in on this. Sorry to offend the PC police, but it is what I am seeing.
-I have had all of the aforementioned things tossed at me. The worst thing though, was someone leaning out the passenger side of a passing junkyard special, and blasting one of those freon marine horns at me, a few feet from my face. (You can't get those cans of freon anymore.) I almost crashed.
-I don't think I need to mention what has happened in every radio market in the country, with regard to talk radio people (aka "shock jocks") and what they do to cyclists. It is time to shut them down.
-Don't think I need to mention cell phones and SUV's either.
-Motorists are not relaxed at the wheel. You could say, "well, everyone is under so much stress today." I cannot buy that one. The "stress argument" is becoming an excuse of convenience. i.e. "Well, I was late to my kid's soccer practice, and my nanny just quit, so I was stressed and ran over the bicyclist. I don't see what the big deal is anyway."

Well, I got a little carried away. Sorry about that. The answer is yes, I do feel cycling is more dangerous today than when I began.


Good post. It's all been the same with my experiences too.

And the answer is "We don't know"
http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/bc/perspective.htm

Bicycling Crashes In Perspective

The loss of 622 lives in bicycle/motor vehicle crashes in 2003, almost two people every day of the year, is an awful toll. The good news is that the number of bicyclist fatalities each year is falling - down from 859 back in 1990, a drop of 28 percent in thirteen years. The number of reported injuries involving bicyclists is also falling, from 68,000 in 1993 to 46,000 in 2003. However, we know from research into hospital records that only a fraction of bicycle crashes causing injury are ever recorded by the police, possibly as low as ten percent.

...and that means that the vast majority of cyclist injuries are so minor that that they need no professional care.

The Bicycle Dealers Association also has claimed 87 million Americans rode their bicycles at some point last year. That's an awfully large number.


The public health community is now recognizing that lack of physical activity, and a decline in bicycling and walking in particular, is a major contributor to the more than 300,000 premature deaths caused by heart attacks and strokes - this number dwarfs the 40,000 annual deaths due to motor vehicle crashes and the relatively small 622 bicyclist deaths.

300,000 vs. 622. What seems to be the bigger danger here?


A drop of 28 percent in fatalities since 1990 certainly sounds good - but without knowing how many people are riding, and how far they are riding, there's no way of knowing whether the drop in crashes is because fewer people are bicycling, or people are only riding on trails and not the roads, because they perceive conditions to be much less safe than ten years ago.


...and perception seems to be the problem here. If we don't know how many people are cycling, or how long they do, we certainly know the manner in which they ride often determines if they are likely to get into an accident. As I posted on a different thread that links a similar theme, "We should not give up eating, for fear of choking" Just as we chew the food we eat to avoid choking, we know we should ride safely to avoid collisions.

I figure that the safty difference then and now is a grab bag. Much depends on where you live, how old you are, your sex and how crazy you are.

Some variables have improved, like more, wider roads, better transportation planning/bike facilities, less drunks, safer helmets, and safer bikes shifting braking, better medicine.

And some are worse. More cars, more older drivers, speed of cars is probably faster, faster pace of life, and crappy mass produced carbon forks, less driver ed.

Some stay the same. Still dont get in trouble for killing someone with you car. Cement just as hard as ever and bones just as brittle.

I think just about as many cyclists perish on the dieways as they did 25 years ago.

If helmets save lives, why don't we wear them in cars? Much more likley to save a life if you where wearing a helmet in the car. Motorcycle deaths decreased last year in PA, the year after the helmet law was repealed. I do wear a helmet and gloves, no shin gaurds.

If helmets save lives, why don't we wear them in cars? Much more likley to save a life if you where wearing a helmet in the car.
Because too many people wouldn't be willing to muss up their hair. They also wouldn't want to mess with a real safety harness or pay for a racecar style safety cage or fuel cell (however, an incredible sound system and onboard video entertainment system is another matter entirely).

Isn't it funny how some have no problem imposing restrictions on others, but when it comes to themselves, they look the other way to avoid an inconvienience no matter where on the risk scale their behavior leads.

Do onto others, but not onto yourself (if it's a hassel, or messes up your hair).